Michelle Obama: A Life

An inspiring story of a modern American icon, here is the first comprehensive account of the life and times of Michelle Obama. With disciplined reporting and a storyteller’s eye for revealing detail, Peter Slevin follows Michelle to the White House from her working-class childhood on Chicago’s largely segregated South Side. He illuminates her tribulations at Princeton University and Harvard Law School during the racially charged 1980s and the dilemmas she faced in Chicago.

Hard Choices

Hillary Rodham Clinton's inside account of the crises, choices, and challenges she faced during her four years as America's 67th Secretary of State, and how those experiences drive her view of the future. In the aftermath of her 2008 presidential run, she expected to return to representing New York in the United States Senate. To her surprise, her former rival for the Democratic Party nomination, newly elected President Barack Obama, asked her to serve in his administration as Secretary of State. This memoir is the story of the four extraordinary and historic years that followed.

Yes We Can: The Speeches of Barack Obama: Expanded Edition

Expanded from the original, Yes We Can! offers highlights from speeches by Barack Obama and includes his entire inaugural address as an added bonus. For this collection, speeches were chosen to showcase President Obama's powerful, inspiring rhetoric of hope and change and to represent his stands on issues such as climate, energy, service, and the Iraq war.

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood

One of the comedy world's fastest-rising stars tells his wild coming of age story during the twilight of apartheid in South Africa and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed. Noah provides something deeper than traditional memoirists: powerfully funny observations about how farcical political and social systems play out in our lives.

Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In

When Bernie Sanders began his race for the presidency, it was considered by the political establishment and the media to be a "fringe" campaign, something not to be taken seriously. After all, he was just an independent senator from a small state with little name recognition. His campaign had no money, no political organization, and it was taking on the entire Democratic Party establishment. By the time Sanders' campaign came to a close, however, it was clear that the pundits had gotten it wrong.

Between the World and Me

"This is your country, this is your world, this is your body, and you must find some way to live within the all of it." In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation's history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of "race", a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men.

Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela is one of the great moral and political leaders of our time: an international hero whose lifelong dedication to the fight against racial oppression in South Africa won him the Nobel Peace Prize and the presidency of his country. Since his triumphant release in 1990 from more than a quarter-century of imprisonment, Mandela has been at the center of the most compelling and inspiring political drama in the world.

The Stranger: Barack Obama in the White House

In The Stranger, NBC Chief White House Correspondent Chuck Todd draws upon his unprecedented inner-circle sources to create a gripping account of Obama's tumultuous White House years. In doing so, not only does Todd give us the most revealing portrait yet of this fascinating president and his struggles, but illuminates what "Obamism" really is, what the president stands for, and how his decisions have changed - and will change - American politics for generations.

Amazon Customer says:"More of a chronicle than insightful about Obama."

The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama

No story has been more central to America's history in this century than the rise of Barack Obama, and, until now, no journalist or historian has written a book that fully investigates the circumstances and experiences of Obama's life or explores the ambition behind his rise. Now, from a writer whose gift for illuminating the historical significance of unfolding events is without peer, we have a portrait of a young man in search of himself and of a rising politician determined to become the first African-American president.

Americanah

As teenagers, Ifemelu and Obinze fall in love in a Nigeria under military dictatorship. The self-assured Ifemelu departs for America, where Obinze hopes to join her, but post-9/11 America will not let him in, and he plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London. Fifteen years later, after so long apart and so many changes, will they find the courage to meet again, face to face?

United: Thoughts on Finding Common Ground and Advancing the Common Good

An energetic new voice in American politics, United States Senator Cory Booker sounds a stirring call to reorient our civic discourse around the principles of empathy and solidarity. Telling candid, inspiring stories from his life and career and imparting lessons learned from people who motivated him to serve, he speaks of rising above discord, tending to our shared resources, and embracing our common destiny.

This definitive box set includes all the landmark speeches of the great orator and American leader Martin Luther King, Jr., from his inspirational "I Have a Dream" to his firey "Give Us the Ballot." Comprised of recordings previously included in A Call to Conscience and A Knock at Midnight, The Essential Box Set is a must-have for any home, library, or school collection.

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

In the spirit of Steve Jobs and Moneyball, Elon Musk is both an illuminating and authorized look at the extraordinary life of one of Silicon Valley's most exciting, unpredictable, and ambitious entrepreneurs - a real-life Tony Stark - and a fascinating exploration of the renewal of American invention and its new makers.

Believer: My Forty Years in Politics

The man behind some of the greatest political changes of the last decade, David Axelrod has devoted a lifetime to questioning political certainties and daring to bring fresh thinking into the political landscape. Whether as a child hearing John F. Kennedy stump in New York or as a strategist guiding the first African American to the White House, Axelrod shows in Believer how his own life stands at the center of the tumultuous American century.

The Best Worst President: What the Right Gets Wrong About Barack Obama

Political analyst and Democratic campaign veteran Mark Hannah gives Barack Obama the victory lap he deserves in this compendium that takes the president's critics head-on and celebrates the president's many underappreciated triumphs.

They Can't Kill Us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America's Racial Justice Movement

Conducting hundreds of interviews during the course of over one year reporting on the ground, Washington Post writer Wesley Lowery traveled from Ferguson, Missouri, to Cleveland, Ohio; Charleston, South Carolina; and Baltimore, Maryland; and then back to Ferguson to uncover life inside the most heavily policed, if otherwise neglected, corners of America today.

The Daily Show (the AudioBook): An Oral History as Told by Jon Stewart, the Correspondents, Staff and Guests

This oral history takes the listener behind the curtain for all the show's highlights, from its origins as Comedy Central's underdog late-night program hosted by Craig Kilborn to Jon Stewart's long reign to Trevor Noah's succession, rising from a scrappy jester in the 24-hour political news cycle to become part of the beating heart of politics - a trusted source for not only comedy but also commentary, with a reputation for calling bullshit and an ability to effect real change in the world.

Publisher's Summary

In this lyrical, unsentimental, and compelling memoir, the son of a black African father and a white American mother searches for a workable meaning to his life as a black American. It begins in New York, where Barack Obama learns that his father, a figure he knows more as a myth than as a man, has been killed in a car accident. This sudden death inspires an emotional odyssey; first to a small town in Kansas, from which he retraces the migration of his mother's family to Hawaii, and then to Kenya, where he meets the African side of his family, confronts the bitter truth of his father's life, and at last reconciles his divided inheritance.

What the Critics Say

Grammy Award Winner, Best Spoken Word Album, 2005

"Provocative....Persuasively describes the phenomenon of belonging to two different worlds, and thus belonging to neither." (The New York Times Book Review) "Fluidly, calmly, insightfully, Obama guides us straight to the intersection of the most serious questions of identity, class, and race." (Washington Post Book World)

Thank you to Mr. Obama for sharing his very interesting life. His descriptions of Hawaii, Indonesia, Chicago and Kenya put you right there. His descriptions of his family make you feel as if you have known them all your life. This audio book was my walking companion for 1 week, I was sad for it to end. I laughed out loud and cried, often on the same walk. Mr. Obama's voice is very charismatic, and I think I could listen to him read my grocery list!

As a bi-racial woman, born just 2 years before him, it was very affirming to hear about the doubts and questions of "who am I?" I am giving this book to all of my family members as gifts this year (they too have had these questions). Great listen, highly recommend it!

I read this in print and was captivated. I did not know too much about Mr. Obama but thought it looked interesting. It brings to light how human he is and how difficult it is to negotiate the world being bi-racial. The most interesting portion is the last third. It is the story of his journey to learn of his family in Africa. It is told almost completely in story format from his family's perspective. The writing is wonderful too. I was sad to finish it.

...when I purchased it in mid-2008 while Barack Obama was running for president. In doing so I violated my own rule against reading autobiographies written by those younger than age 65 because writing such books is audacious. Dreams From My Father is beautifully narrated by the author, but the story is light on substance. It is better than President Obama's earlier book The Audacity of Hope, but only barely. It still seems odd to me that Barack Obama wrote two autobiographical books while he was in his mid-40's.

An insightful and respectful review of the roots of a man who would continue to inspire millions to become the best they can be, read with the emotion, voices and intonation that only the author could muster. Engaging and totaly entertaining.

Explains how he became the man we know today as President Obama. Amazing well read by the author himself. It is enjoyable and startling at times ot hear his voice tells you about so many intimate details about his life. It is a story any self-made person can all relate to even though we may not have such exotic life experiences. It is also a lesson in tolerance and race.

Biracial Obama was first raised by the Anglo part of his family then entered and lived African-American in early adulthood. He is able to view social dynamics from many perspectives. By revealing his journey in such a compelling manner, he helps the listener consider our American society from its good and its bad sides. This is a great listen.

Wonderful book and story. Enlightening take on life and how we can make our lives happen by taking responsibility for ourselves. I wish there were more with the ability to think this way. What a positive place we could live in!